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Maxtor OneTouch 4

Posted 01/22/08 at 01:29:36 PM  by David Murphy

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We were about to lead off this review with a Nelson Muntz-style “ha-ha” at Seagate, whose 750GB FreeAgent Pro has now fallen from the top of our external storage rankings thanks to Maxtor’s OneTouch 4. And then we remembered that Seagate now owns Maxtor. Whoops.

The OneTouch 4 is easily the fastest non-RAID, USB-based external device we’ve tested. That’s a lot of modifiers, but we don’t want to give credit where it isn’t due. Yes, there are bigger enclosures—Western Digital has terabyte-size external storage devices. And, yes, there are enclosures with more than just a USB connection—just look at Seagate’s own FreeAgent Pro.

But if you don’t have eSATA or FireWire, the OneTouch 4 represents the pinnacle of speedy portable storage. The device comes with included backup software that sucks up nearly 60MB of space on the drive, but it’s space well utilized—the software lets you perform backups and synchronizations in a very unobtrusive manner.

A few design flaws—like the absence of a power switch–keep the OneTouch 4 out of the Storage Hall of Fame, but while we can critique the nitty-gritty, we can’t overlook the speed or software. Coupled together, they make for a great storage device.

Click to Enlarge

We would trade an arm, if not a leg as well, for a terabyte model in the OneTouch line.

Maxtor OneTouch 4
www.maxtorsolutions.com
plus
Kang

One of the fastest USB-connected devices we’ve tested; quiet as a dead mouse.

minus
Kodos

No other connection options, save for USB; no power switch.

verdict:9
BENCHMARKS
WD Passport Maxtor OneTouch 4 Seagate FreeAgent Pro (usb)
Burst (MB/s) 36.2 37.5 26.3
Random Access (ms) 17.5 14.1 21.5
Average Read (MB/s) 34.7 37.2 25.5
Best scores are bolded in each connection category. All benchmarks taken using HD Tach 3.0.1.0
COMMENTS:4
TAGS: usb, hardware, portable storage, maxtor onetouch, reviews, backup drives
COMMENTS
avatarfailed after one long day of editing music tracks

Submitted by jonervie on Mon, 05/18/2009 - 10:11pm

 

i used the drive for one (14 hour) day in a music studio editing drum tracks and vocal takes together. now it's the end of the day. and the drive is dead....  tomorrow i am gonna be staring at a computer for another 14 hours redoing everything that i painstakingly did already. shame on maxtor for not recalling this drive. shame on office max and others for not taking it off the shelves...

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avatarFailure rate?

Submitted by Rec4LMS on Sat, 02/14/2009 - 1:37pm

Maximum PC should also revise their reviews after a period of time noting if the items reviewd develop issues after an extended period of time.  I came here to get some ideas on a new externa hard drive and then did further research on the Maxtor.  Several customer comments on other web sites (including Newegg) infer that the Maxtor One Touch 4 has a high failure rate.

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avatarold news?

Submitted by Cougar Magnum on Wed, 07/09/2008 - 9:42am

This may be old news, but Maxtor does have a 1TB version of the One Touch.

http://www.maxtorsolutions.com/en/catalog/OT4/

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avatarJust how big is it?

Submitted by RCopeland on Wed, 01/23/2008 - 2:07pm

I see where you compare it to the 750gb Seagate FreeAgent Pro, but I don't see anywhere where the size of the Maxtor OneTouch 4 is listed.

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